Rebecca Tshoga
Preparations for Miss Masvingo 2021 beauty pageant have reached a climax as aspiring models from the seven districts of the province gear up for district competitions to be hosted at various centers in their respective areas.
Organizers of the event said auditions have been held virtually and physically under strict Covid-19 conditions to avoid spread of the deadly disease as such events attract mass audiences.
Director and founder of Miss Masvingo Donovan Takaendesa confirmed that the event was first organized before strict lockdown restrictions.
“When we organized the event there were no strict lockdown restrictions. However we put in place measures to avert any future inconveniences. We initially wanted to hold the auditions and event online, but the lockdown has been eased, which will ensure smooth running of the event.”
The auditions will determine contestants that are going to participate at district level and scout out the victorious ones to proceed to provincial level.
Contestants are drawn from the seven districts namely Bikita, Masvingo, Chiredzi, Chivi, Gutu, Mwenezi and Zaka.
“We are taking contestants from the district and we are also considering Zimuto although it is not part of Masvingo district but we are making an exception,” said Takaendesa.
For Zimuto and Gutu the auditions will be on September 18 at Gutu council hall, Masvingo district at Caravan Park, Chiredzi at Westwood lodge and Bikita will hold their auditions on 25 September and Zaka and Mashava on October 2 though venues are not yet known.
Measures have been put in place to make sure contestants meet set criteria to participate in the contest.
Contestants have to be vaccinated before auditions or proceeding to the actual contest.
“Considering the pandemic, we have a limited number for contestants. However, auditions will have no limited numbers, and we will choose our specific contestants after the auditions.
After auditions we will take 12 contestants from each district where we will choose two leaving our contestants at 14 from the seven districts.
They will then go for the district level before proceeding to provincial,” said Takaendesa.
Management of events and number of contestants has been done under consideration of the Covid-19 pandemic.
After the completion at district level, the event managers will look for a bigger place to accommodate participants and judges so as to maintain social distancing.
The theme for this year’s pageant is “Fighting Against the spread of Covid-19’ with the aim of campaigning against spread of corona virus.
Takaendesa said their goal is to search and give every hidden talent the opportunity to exhibit and be heard, providing an affordable and fair platform for the models.
